And All That Was
by Subject87
Summary: A companion/prequel/ and possibly sequel to And All that Could Have Been. Freddie heads to L.A to start College, leaving everything he knows, where he reunites with Tori Vega and explores a friendship, and possibly more, with her. Pairings: Freddie/Tori, may add more pairings as the story goes on.
1. Prologue

_June 22__nd__,2012_

The plane touched down and a relieved Freddie Benson stepped off.

"Hello Hollywood," he said, trying to remain cheerful. He resisted the urge to take out his wallet and gaze at the picture of her, of Carly Shay. No he needed to forget, to move on. That's why he had chosen to come here, to Hollywood, to move on. He checked his phone, he'd gotten an early flight so it was early in the afternoon and he was starving since he'd skipped the airplane food.

Luckily for him there was a pizza place just down the street from the airport and so ten minutes later he found himself in line, practically drooling over the smell of Pizza. He felt an arm brush against his and he looked up to see a brunette girl in front of him.

"Sorry!" she said quickly.

It took him a moment to respond, he recognized her of course "Tori?" he asked.

"Freddie? Oh my gosh it is you!" she said, hugging him.

He felt his cheeks heat up as she embraced him, he'd forgotten how beautiful she was... How nice she was, a little too much like the one he was trying to forget. "I've been... Good." he said, "I'm going to school here actually." he said.

"Really? She asked, "College?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to UCLA."

"Me too!"

He grinned, "Great! I was afraid I'd have to start over completely... It's nice to have a friend already, What about Cat, Andre, Beck and the others?"

She smiled, "Cat and Andre are going into music, Beck is going to UCLA with me." She blushed softly at the mention of Beck.

"Someone has a boyfriend?" he teased playfully.

She nodded, "we've only been dating a couple weeks but he's really nice."

Freddie smiled, he almost felt jealous of Beck who didn't have any problems getting a girl he wanted. _Why can't I be like that?" _He thought bitterly.

"Everything okay?" Tori asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh I was just... Thinking about someone."

"Carly?" She asked.

"Yeah..." he said, sounding surprised. "How'd you know?"

"It was pretty obvious when I met you three you had feelings for her."

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter." he said, "I'm here to move on, no point in dwelling on the past."

Tori smiled sympathetically at him, "Come sit with me" she said, "We'll catch up!"

"That sounds fine to me." he said smiling. He ordered what he wanted, two slices of supreme, but Tori paid for it.

"I insist." she said when he tried to protest , "Come on, tell me how you've been lately."

They sat down in the back and Freddie, knowing he was supposed to catch her up on the events in Seattle, began to speak. "We did our final iCarly about three days ago; it still seems so unreal it's over... It was such a big part of my, well all of our, lives and now it's just..."

"Over?" Tori suggested.

He nodded, "Exactly."

"When it came time for us to graduate Hollywood arts... It was just, I got in there by accident but I loved that school... And now I'm moving on in life."

He nodded, "iCarly was just... It was an idea born from wanting to rebel, I suppose looking back any kid that age want's to, and so we did...And I suppose it makes sense that when you grow up that rebelling stops..."

Tori laughed, "You are such a geek, it's simple as this... You had a webshow, a good webshow, but nothing lasts forever."

He smiled at that, an almost bitter smile, "Sometimes I wish that were true." Before she could reply he changed topics "What're you going to school for?"

She laughed, "Nice way to change topics." she teased, "I'm going for a music degree; I want to be able to produce as well as record my own music."

"You're gonna be a singer huh?"

"You know, I didn't want to there for a while but... Going to Hollywood Arts, it made me realize that yes, I do wanna sing."

He nodded, "You're pretty good at it, if I remember right."

"Aww, thanks." the brunette girl said happily. "What are you going to school for?"

"I wanna be a special effects guy... But not just for movies you know, I wanna do concerts and stuff."

She nodded, "Maybe you can do special effects for some of my shows, when I graduate I mean."

He nodded, "I'd like that."

She looked down at her watch, "Oh shoot, I have to go, I'm supposed to meet Beck."

"Alright, I'll see you soon then." he said, "Take care Tori."

"You too Freddie!"

He watched her leave before digging into his pizza, _Tori's right_ He thought, _This Pizza is amazing._

_September 24__th__, 2012_

UCLA was a huge place; huge enough to make Freddie wonder what the hell he'd been thinking when he'd decided to go here. Looking at his schedule he sighed, he had decided to take four classes this semester: Math, English, and a couple of classes on computers, not that he needed them.

A group of students were gathered in a circle so Freddie, naturally, went to see what was the commotion. "Hey you." came a voice behind him, "Tori!" he said grinning, "I was hoping I'd find you, this place is insane."

She nodded, "Yeah, Beck's around here somewhere."

"So what classes are you taking?" he asked.

"Oh, some general courses mostly, and a telecommunications class... I think that's what it's called."

"Sweet, maybe we'll be in some classes together." he said, almost hopefully.

"That'd be awesome!" she said grinning, "Now, what do you have first?"

"Um... Math 135." He said.

"Me too!" she said happily.

"Walk you to class?" He offered.

"Sure! But Beck should be here soon."

"We'll wait then, there's a table over there."

They walked over and sat down, "What have you been up to since I last saw you?" Tori asked curiously

"Nothing really, I got a job, The local pear store hired me in spite of me being fired at the Seattle one I worked at."

"Why'd you get fired?"

His face darkened, "Sam. She got me fired...It's a long story."

She gave him a sympathetic look "I'm sorry, She seemed so nice.."

He laughed bitterly, "She seems like it to some people, but she's... She's a demon, that's all I can tell you."

She nodded, "Well, you're here now, and you'll have plenty of friends that will treat you right."

That brought out a smile, "Thanks Tori..."

"So, meet any special girls?" She teased.

"Nah I... I don't really want a girl right now."

She didn't say anything for a moment, and he wondered if he was coming across to bitter "sorry.." he muttered, "I'm just kind of.."

"It takes a while." She said, "To adjust to things."

He nodded and smiled, "Exactly."

"Come on, We're gonna be late to class."

"Alright." Thankful to have a friend he followed her to class, and for the first time in awhile Seattle and Carly were not on his mind.

_December 25__th__ , 2012_

A knock on the door at Midnight rose Freddie from his chair where he'd been watching a late night movie on TV. "Who is it?"

"Merry Christmas!" came Tori's voice, but she didn't sound her usual cheery self. He opened the door and noticed her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.

"What's wrong Tori?" He asked, concern obvious in his voice.

"I-It's nothing.."

"Obviously something is, you look like you've been crying your eyes out."

She shook her head and stood there for a moment, "It's Beck.."

"What about him?"

"We had a fight... I think it might be over."

"What? But you guys were so happy together! What happened?"

'"I don't know... He's been growing distant lately, never wants to spend time with me, so I asked him about it and he blew up and told me it was over."

Freddie winced, this was all too familiar... "Come in." he said, "I was gonna make a turkey sandwich, want one?"

She nodded, "That's fine."

When he was sure she couldn't see his face he sighed, this was all too familiar, why was it always him the pretty brunette's came to when they were hurting? Granted Tori wasn't Carly and he didn't feel that way... Did he?

He shook his head, they were just friends and that's all they would ever be, he wasn't going to set himself up for more heartbreak, he would never set himself for that kind of heartbreak again.

He came back out with two turkey sandwiches and they ate in silence. After the sandwiches are done Tori looked up at him, "Don't you have a family you were supposed to spend Christmas with?"

"I'm not really ready to go back to Seattle yet." he admitted, "I can't face her... Not yet."

She nodded understandingly, "I think I understand now... You love someone like that and it just... It hurts to be around them, I don't think I'll ever be able to go around Beck for a while"

"Trust me, it gets easier." he said, a bitter smile on his face, "You learn to deal with it, to be there when they need you... It's what I did." _Granted I ende__d up running away from her to __Hollywood, but there's no point in bringing that up is there? _ "Want a cup of coffee?"

"No thanks... Oh! I did bring you this!" She said and handed him a card that had been in her hand, he had totally missed it

"Oh thanks, I got you one too," he replied.

They exchanged cards and smiled at each other, "Merry Christmas." He said.

"Merry Christmas!" she responded happily.

They spent the next hour or two watching a movie, neither of them were sure what it was but it was entertaining, until they both ended up falling asleep.

When Freddie woke up he smelled coffee, and saw a brunette busy in the kitchen, "What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"11" she replied, her cheerful tone back, "We must have fell asleep watching that movie."

"Oh."

She turned to look at him, "You like bacon?"

"Yeah, I didn't know I had any bacon..?"

"You didn't, I went out and got some, I got some eggs too, I was hungry."

"Oh okay, smells good."

"Yeah, I'm not the world's best cook but It should be edible."

"I lived with a maniac who made me eat fruit mashed with a mallet." He said, "I'll eat anything."

"Fruit... With a mallet?" she asked confused.

"Long story." he said, "You're better off not knowing."

"Try me" she challenged as she served them both plates of the breakfast she had cooked for them.

He sighed and looked at her, as if contemplating if he should tell her or not, "My mom was really, really paranoid." he finally said, "She was afraid of everything, she regularly made sure I had.." he shivered at the thought, "Tick baths." He stopped for a moment, waiting for her to laugh.

She shook her head, "That is just... wrong on so many levels."

He glanced at her, "Not going to laugh?"

She looked confused, "Why would I laugh?"

"Never mind." he said quickly, sighing in relief. "Anyway, it was just... It was bad, and the older I got the worse it got, I was relieved to be getting out of Seattle and coming here."

"Wow that's, have you considered getting her help?" Tori asked, trying to be helpful.

He laughed at that, "Many times, but I figure I'm out of there... She can live how she wants."

"Fair enough, now eat!" the brunette girl insisted, "So I can show you around town."

"Don't you have a family to spend Christmas with?"

"They went on Vacation this year; It was my Mom's Christmas gift from Dad."

"They sound like nice people."

"They are, I mean... They support us no matter our dreams or... Talent."

"Talent?"

Tori brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, "You've met my sister, Trina, she doesn't have a lick of talent... But we support her anyway and she acts like she's queen of the world."

"Oh.. Egos."

"Ego's and sometimes lack of brains," she chuckled.

Freddie couldn't help but laugh, "That's the worst combo." he agreed.

They finished eating and soon the young computer genius found himself being dragged to his Brunette friend's car and they were off to sight see in Los Angeles.

Their first stop was Nozu, "This is the best Sushi place in Los Angeles."

He looked at her strangely, "Sushi?" he asked her, "That's gross."

"You have to try it sometime!" she insisted.

He rolled his eyes and looked at her, "Fine... You can take me there tomorrow if you like."

"How about tonight?"

Seeing as Freddie had nothing better to do he nodded, "Alright, but if I don't like it you're buying me a hamburger" he teased.

"You've got a deal."

Their next stop was Tori's old school, Hollywood Arts, "This is where I went to school." she explained, "And discovered I could actually sing."

He looked at the building, "It must be special," he commented.

"It is..." Tori looked at the building fondly, "A lot of memories, good and bad, are in that building."

"I know what you mean." he said, thoughts of Bushwell Plaza invading his mind.

They spent the rest of the day visiting various important places in Hollywood, including a memorable trip to the Hollywood Sign, and by the time they pulled into Nozu's again it was getting dark, "Ready to finally try some Sushi?" Tori teased.

The dark haired young man beside her didn't reply for a moment, before finally nodding and letting her lead him in. Tori ordered for both of them, since he had no idea what was what, and when the food came he looked at it nervously.

"Do I really have to eat this?"

"Try it!" she insisted, grabbing her chopsticks and sliding a piece of her sushi in her mouth.

He picked up his chopsticks and mimicked her, picking up one of the pieces of sushi and lifting it towards his mouth, only to drop it.

She giggled and took his hand, showing him how to hold the chop sticks.

_What is she doing?_ He thought, heat rising in his cheeks as she helped him grab a piece of sushi and lead it to his lips so he could eat it.

"Got it?" she asked.

He nodded, eating it "It's.. Okay." he said, bringing his chopsticks back down.

After they ate she drove him back to his apartment "I had fun today." She said.

"I did too... Most fun I've had since then I got here."

"See you later?" She asked.

"You know it."

Freddie climbed out of the car and watched her drive off, this had been the first day in months he hadn't missed Carly and the life he'd left behind in Seattle, things were starting to look up for him.

He climbed the steps to his apartment and headed straight for his bedroom, he was exhausted. The young computer genius kicked his shoes off and collapsed into bed, eager for sleep and tomorrow to come.

**Note: **If you haven't ready And All that Could have Been I'd suggest reading It, this is a companion/prequel/ maybe sequel. Depends on how far I go, I don't own icarly or Victorious, this is just an idea discussed with my beta, whom I thank. Please Read and review!


	2. Chapter 1

December 31st, 2012

It was now 11:35 PM, just twenty-five minutes and it would be 2013. The former iCarly tech producer sipped at his soda and watched the clock. He had the New Year Special on mute and was looking at the iCarly site on his laptop.

Before he could click on one of the videos, the very first iCarly they had ever done, a knock on his door startled him. "One moment!" the 18 year old called.

"It's Tori!"

He rushed over to the door and opened it. His brunette friend's eyes were red, she looked like she'd been crying, and he stepped aside so she could come in "What's wrong Tori?"

"Beck broke up with me."

"What?! Is it because of your fight on Christmas?"

"I don't know, I mean... Things were great up until around Christmas but they've just really... I don't know how to explain it... I knew it was coming, I should have known but it still hurts."

He pulled her into an embrace, which she happily returned, and he could feel her arms tightening around him. "Thanks Freddie..." she whispered, "You're a great friend."

_Friend... Always friend… _He thought bitterly, flashbacks to a time he'd tried hard not to remember.

"_You're a great friend Freddie," said Carly, whom he'd been in love with forever, as she wiped her eyes. "Thank you."_

"_Just a friend?" he asked hopefully. It was the day after graduation and he was considering what college to do to... He had hoped she might love him back and give him a reason to stay, especially after her boyfriend of two weeks had broken up with her. He'd been there for her while she'd gotten over it and he knew it might be tactless to ask, but he was running out of time._

_She looked at him strangely, "You don't... You're not?"_

_He sighed, "Come on Carly... You know nothing's really changed for me..."_

_She bit her lip and for a moment he thought she may say yes, instead the brunette's next words were one's he'd never forget. Her eyes filled with sympathy, she whispered, "Just a friend."_

_The next day he'd headed to L.A._

He was snapped out of his not to fond memories by Tori, "Anyone home?" she asked, poking his arm gently.

The former tech producer grimaced, "Sorry... bad memories."

"Seems we both strike out with relationships." The brunette singer said.

"Yeah," he said, a playful smirk on his face, "Maybe we should just date each other, at this rate we'll run out of people to date."

The 18 year old girl smirked, "Are you hitting on me?"

"Maybe…" he challenged, "What're you gonna do about it?"

She shrugged, "Nothing… for now," she poked his chest playfully, "but you better watch your back Benson..."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe..."

"I look forward to it."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I have a thing for brunettes... Didn't you know?"

She giggled and punched him in the arm playfully, "You are so weird Mr. Benson."

"It's Benson... Freddie Benson."

That just made her giggle harder, "You are so weird." she repeated.

"Yeah well, I like being weird thank you very much."

She looked at the clock, "It's 11:59" she said, "Got any New Years resolutions?"

He smirked, "Yeah... Just one." _Forget about Carly Shay. _He unmuted the TV and watched as the final countdown began, soon it was down to 5...4...3..2..

"Happy New Years"

"Happy New Years!" she replied, smiling softly at him.

February 1st, 2013

_This is the most... boring date in the history of dates_ He thought as he tried his best not to let a bored expression slip onto his face. His phone buzzed and he peeked at it, it was a text from Tori **How's the Date? **The text read. **Very Funny** he replied, hoping the sarcasm could be heard through a text. A moment later his phone vibrated in his hand and he peeked down again. **Need a rescue?**

The text brought a smile to his lips, which just encouraged Ashley (His date) to continue telling her story which he'd drowned out most of. **No, I promised her a date and I refuse to just ditch her. **His phone buzzed again and it was just a simple: **Admirable.**

He put his phone away and looked up just as his date said his name "Freddie?"

"Oh sorry... What?" he asked, taking a moment to study her face.

Ashley Schneider was a girl he'd met in one of his computer classes when they'd been paired up for an assignment. She was a rather pretty girl with brunette hair and brown eyes like his own (Not that he noticed how similar to Tori she was in looks). She was pretty enough, and knew her computers well, but she was boring him with stories about TV shows she liked (Which in all honesty he knew he was supposed to care, but he didn't know anything about them) and it seemed the only thing they had in common was computers. Unfortunately every attempt to steer them back was blocked by her insistence on telling him every detail of her life. _She' s not even as good a talker as... _

No. he refused to think about her, but oddly enough his mind didn't wander to Carly... It wandered to Tori instead. _Why am I comparing her to Tori? _ He thought, confused. He always thought about Carly in the past, especially when another girl had hit on him. He'd always found a way she didn't measure up to Carly.

Until Tori.

_What is going on here? _He thought, _I don't love Tori she's... My friend, she's.. So nice and.. Snap out of it Benson!_

His date, finally noticing he was distracted, said his name two or three times. Finally he snapped out if it "Huh? Sorry Tori." he replied without thinking.

"Tori?" Ashley asked clearly hurt and a little angry, "Who's Tori?" When she stood up to leave he knew he had some major explaining to do. "I was a million miles away."

"Well, if you're going to be thinking about other women on our date... Maybe you should be dating them instead!" she said angrily before leaving.

He slumped down in his chair, wishing he could disappear from sight, and pulled out his phone. He typed up a quick message to Tori and hesitated _No.. No way, she can never... EVER find out about this. _ He thought before quickly deleting the message and running out of the restaurant, eager to get home. _Dating is just not my thing.._ he mentally grumbled on the way home.

February 14th, 2013

"Valentine's day, without a girlfriend... AGAIN" he muttered as he flipped through the TV stations, though everything seemed to have some love story or something else he didn't want to see today. His red pear store shirt lay on the floor where he'd threw it after work and so now he sat, wearing his white under shirt and jeans and moping. Everything seemed to either remind him of Tori or Carly today, which was confusing him to no end.

He was shaken out of his confusing thoughts by a pounding on the door, _Tori_, he thought, no one else came to see him really. The tired pear store employee got up and headed to the door. Sure enough, when he opened it, there was Tori. "Surprise!" she said happily.

"Tori!" he said, trying to sound surprised, and grunted as she nearly tackled him to the ground with a hug. "What's goin' on Tori?" he asked.

"I got bored, C'mon Mr. Benson... You are taking me out to eat sushi!"

"Are you ordering me to take you out on a date for Valentine's Day?"

She simply gave him a mischievous smile, "We going or what?"

The computer genius just gave a sigh of defeat, "Let me put on some nicer clothes."

He felt her hands release him and he smiled, "Thank you." he said before walking to the bedroom. Five minutes later he came out wearing a black button up shirt over a fresh white undershirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"Looking good," the brunette young woman complemented, "C'mon, You drive!"

"Still no license?" he asked, pretending to be annoyed.

"So!?" she asked defensively, causing him to grin.

"Relax... I'll drive."

The drive to Nozu's was short and quiet, mostly because Freddie had no idea what to say. _You are not falling in love with her again. You will not fall in love with her... You won't go through this again._

Again was the key word... Again was the one thing hold him back. Again was Carly Shay, it seemed he could never escape her no matter how hard he tried.

"What're you thinking about ?"

"Brunettes, and how they cause me nothing but trouble."

"Hey!" the brunette singer protested, slapping his arm playfully.

Freddie didn't respond at first, but then he grinned "You're the exception."

Her face softened, "Thinking about Carly?" she asked curiously.

"How'd you guess?"

"Because I know you too well... You've been on one date since you got here and that one, so you say, ended in disaster because you called her Carly."

He felt his cheeks heat up, mostly because he hated lying to her, "So? I've loved her since I was eleven years old; I'm not going to forget her in less than a year."

"No one's asking you to forget..."

They pulled into Nozu's and he got out of the car before she could finish... He couldn't talk to her about this, he couldn't tell her he was beginning to forget about Carly.

"Freddie," came the voice of his friend from behind him.

He turned to face her, "Yeah?"

"No one is asking you to forget her." She repeated, "She was a huge part of your life, like you said... You've been in love with her since you were eleven years old.. But forgetting and moving on are two different things!"

"Obviously for me they aren't." he retorted, "Every girl I date doesn't match up in some way or another to her..." _Or you. _He thought.

"Stop comparing them then."

"It's not like I do it on purpose! I just... It ends up like that."

She shook her head, "I'm not giving up on this... but I'm starving. Trust me, there's a girl out there for you."

He didn't respond, instead he followed her inside and sat down.

"Cute couple," the waiter commented when he walked up to take their order, "what'll you love birds have?"

They both blushed and looked down, "We're just friends." They both mumbled but ordered anyway.

The waiter, whose name tag read Phil, just gave a knowing smile and walked away with their order written down.

"Moron..." Freddie mumbled.

"Well, we are together on Valentine's day so it's an easy mistake."

"I guess."

"Listen, I auditioned for a school play, it's a big deal in my theater class... And if I get the part will you come see it opening night? It'd mean a lot."

"I'll be there."

"IF I get the part." she repeated.

"You'll get the part, no doubt about it."

"Thanks Freddie, that means a lot."

The sushi arrived and he dug in, unsure (yet again) what he was supposed to say.

It was Tori who broke the silence, "How're classes and work?"

"Work is fantastic! I love working with technology, the store has this amazing new laptop in with eight gigabytes of RAM and an I7 processor."

"Okay, I haven't a clue what you just said, but awesome." she interrupted.

"One of these days I'm going to teach you how to fix a computer, and teach you all the pieces that make the thing go."

"Oh I look forward to THAT."

He rolled his eyes but continued, "School is going great... I got an A on last week's test."

"Figures, do you ever get anything else?"

"I got quite a few lower grades because of Sam, she was the cause of many bad grades for me in school though."

"She sounds like a bully."

"She was, trust me...but mostly to me."

Tori looked at him sympathetically, "Don't worry... No one here is like that, No one I know anyway."

"Tori, I don't socialize much, you know that, you're the only real friend I have."

She blinked, "You need to meet some of mine then... Andre, Robbie, though he's a little weird, Cat... I think you and Cat would get along. She's kind of... not all there, but she's really nice."

He just nodded, he wasn't really interested in befriending other people but he'd let her do what she felt was best.

Before they knew it people were leaving and he looked at his watch, "Dang it... I've got work in the morning... Can I drop you off at your place?"

"Sure!" she said, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You bet."

He walked her to his car and, after dropping her off, went home. He collapsed on his bed and let sleep over take him, hoping that the morning would bring answers.

March 3rd,2013

The dark haired tech genius slung his backpack over his shoulder as class let out, the lesson had been easy and he was ready for lunch. He shut down the computer and headed out the door. Just as he got to the school cafeteria, he tapped his fingers against his backpack's shoulder strap as he walked down the halls.

"Freddie," came a familiar energized voice.

"Tori!" he replied cheerfully, "what's up?"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got the lead in the play!" she said, obviously thrilled about it, "Isn't that great?"

"That is fantastic!" he said proudly, "I told you so."

She blushed softly, "Ssh... Thank you though."

"For what?"

"For believing in me of course."

"It's what friends are for right?"

"Yup! Now, I've got rehearsal so... I'll see you later!"

March 19th, 2013

Tonight was the night, opening night of Tori's play, and he had to admit she was excited. Not only was this her first play, but she was the lead, plus it counted as a final for her theater class. He'd made sure he would be ready for the occasion, he wore a white dress shirt with black dress pants and a pair of black dress shoes. On his way to the play he stopped to get a bouquet of flowers for Tori.

He made sure to arrive twenty minutes early to catch the leading lady before she went on stage. The play, a musical he'd never heard of before, had all but sold out of tickets and he knew if he didn't get a good seat now he'd never get one... But he had something to do first.

He grabbed the flowers out of the passenger's seat and looked at them, they were just normal red roses, nothing to special about them, and walked back stage to find Tori sitting in a chair.

She looked almost petrified, and jumped when he tapped her on the shoulder, "Nervous?"

"Y-yeah... I did plays at Hollywood arts but, have you seen the chairs out there? If they're full... All those people will s-see me.."

"You want to be an actress and singer right? Singers preform on stage."

"Well,.. Singing is different.." she muttered.

"You'll be singing in this play." he reminded her, "just pretend it's a concert... I got you these." The young man said, handing her the flowers.

"They're beautiful." she said giggling, "Thanks Freddie..."

"Good luck!" he said, kissing her cheek before heading back to get a seat.

The play was around an hour and a half, and Freddie found himself rather in awe of her singing voice. Apparently the crowd did too, they were all sitting up straight and staring at the beautiful young brunette on stage.

After the play ended the crowd stood up and applauded while the director urged Tori to take a bow while someone threw a flower up on the stage.

Freddie waited by the backstage door, he had promised her sushi in celebration, and when she finally came out it was obvious she was ecstatic about something.

"One of the girls in the play has a father who's a record label executive!" she exclaimed, "and he loved my voice... He wants me to put out an album during Spring break."

"That's fantastic!"

"And if things go well... A summer tour!"

He felt his jaw drop, "A tour?"

"Yeah... A tour." she said triumphantly. "If I go, will you come with me?"

He didn't even have to think about it, "Of course."


	3. Chapter 2

May 30th 2013

Freddie looked out the van window and sighed, "We have to drive?" he asked curiously

"Yup! Well, we'll fly if we go outta country, but I doubt it'll happen this tour." his brunette friend, and the reason he was here, told him cheerfully.

Their second semester at UCLA had just ended and before Freddie could blink it was time for Tori's tour, which he had promised he'd go with her on, and now they were on their way to Austin Texas for her first show. He looked down at his laptop which was still showing the movie he'd been watching and closed it, "Nervous?"

"Kinda..." she admitted, "I mean... There's a gonna be a HUGE crowd, what if I don't live up to expectations?"

"You, will be perfect." he said.

She looked at him with uncertainty in his eyes, "Promise?" she asked.

"One hundred percent promise." he told her, "You will be fantastic."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush slightly, "Thanks."

"What're friends for?" he asked. "We've got about another ten hours, why don't you try to get some sleep and maybe you'll think of a new song to blow them out of the water?"

She nodded, "I wish Andre was here, he was a fantastic song writer."

"So are you." he told her, "Trust me, get some sleep."

Ten minutes later she was asleep and the Seattle native went back to his movie until her manager, a young woman named Trish, walked in, "How's our future star?" she asked in a cheerful voice he often suspected was fake.

Trish, short for Trisha, was a woman in her mid 30's with long blonde hair and hazel eyes . She wore a black business dress and had her hair tied up in a pony tail. She seemed nice enough, but Freddie could tell she wasn't always as cheerful as she pretended to be.

"She's asleep." he whispered, "But she's working on a song now." he lied.

The blonde nodded and walked to the front of the bus with the driver and he went back to his movie before falling asleep.

He was awoken three hours later by Tori who showed him a notepad with a hastily scribbled song. "This is about...?"

She nodded, "What do you think?"

"I like it." He nodded, "You should dedicate it to Beck."

"I plan to." she said with a smirk.

"Good deal." he said with a grin.

When they finally arrived at Austin Freddie was the first one off the bus as they hadn't stopped since the Texas/New Mexico Border hours ago. "Gotta pee!" he shouted as he raced off the bus and headed for the gas station across the street. Tori giggled and watched him go while she stretched by walking around the bus a few times.

She looked at her watch and sighed, it was almost 4 AM and they had a show that night "Time to get some food and then go back to sleep." she muttered as Freddie came back with a doughnut and handed it to her.

"Try this." he said, "It's amazing."

She looked at the pastry wearily before taking it in her hand and biting into it. "Oh my god.." she muttered between mouthfuls, "This is delicious."

"Told ya."

\She giggled a little and shook her head,"Quiet Benson."

"Or what Vega?"

"Or uh..." she paused and threw a bit of the doughnut at him.

"Hey! That's just not fair!" he said with a grin.

"All's fair in love and war."

"So you're in love with me?"

Tori blushed softly, "N-No.." But even to her the words sounded hollow, like she was lying.

He looked at her curiously, and she wondered if he'd noticed how hollow the words sound, but he didn't say anything "Come on, you need some rest if you're gonna sing tonight."

She just sighed and walked back onto the bus as she finished up the doughnut he'd brought her and tried not to let her nerves take over as she tried to sleep.

She was shaken awake at 11:30 by Freddie, "C'mon, we've got the entire day to ourselves, we can do whatever we want"

"Oh yeah? I bet you've got a big ol day planned?"

"Nah, I was just gonna buy you lunch."

"Oh yeah? This a date?" she teased.

His expression was unreadable for a moment, "If you want it to be." he finally said with a smile.

"An unofficial first date?" she teased.

"Sure" He laughed.

"I need to get dressed first."

"I'll wait outside."

As soon as he walked outside she took a deep breath, why was she so nervous? They were friends... Best friends, _You couldn't do much better than him Tori _a voice in her head said.

"Oh shut up." She growled, her face turning slightly red. She got dressed in a simple light blue t-shirt and a jean shorts with a pair of black sandals. She hopped off the bus and smiled "Ready?"

Freddie had dressed in a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans with his normal sneakers, "Ready." he replied with a soft smile.

They walked through the city, mostly sight seeing, while looking for a place to eat. They finally reached a BF Wangs (Tori was happy, she loved this place) and decided to eat there. "I kinda miss Nozu's." Tori said with a smirk as they got a seat in the back.

"We're gonna have wings and all you can think about is sushi?" he asked, "Weirdo."

"I am not weird!" she protested with a giggle, "I just like sushi."

"You're weird!" he said with a grin, "But that's okay... I like weird."

She felt heat rising in her cheeks again, what was wrong with her? She never blushed at corny stuff like that before.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm... fine." she said with a soft sigh, "Um, would you like to just split a meal?"

"Sure, I'm not that hungry, I just wanted to go somewhere with you."

She let out a nervous giggle, "Thanks, but surely I'm not that interesting."

"You're my best friend." he said, "Of course you are."

"Thanks...that's sweet."

"It's the truth."

"It's still sweet."

Silence consumed the conversation as a waitress came up, her name tag read Anna, and placed menu's on the table. The two college students ordered coffee to drink and decided to split a basket of wings. The waitress nodded and walked off with their orders.

"So, are you gonna be working with the audio guys?"

"Definitely." he said with a grin, "I'll make you sound amazing, an easy job really."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because you already sound amazing."

"Thanks Freddie, that's really sweet..."

"Hey, I wouldn't lie to you, I promise."

"I know."

"It doesn't seem real... I mean we've barely started college and I'm on a tour of the United States."

"You're just that good."

"I guess.."

His hand slid forward to cover hers, "There isn't anyone I've ever met more talented and beautiful than you."

"What about Carly?" she asked.

He froze, he hadn't thought about Seattle, iCarly, or Carly for months, "She was an actress, a good one, but you're better."

She wanted to believe him, but part of her nagged that he was just saying that because he was bitter, "Thanks." she finally said.

He just shrugged as the food arrived, "You're gonna be great, and I'll be first in line to buy your first album."

"Well at least it'll sell one album."

"It'll sell more than that surely."

"We'll see."

"Well, We'll see."

The food arrived before he could reply and they focused on the wings in the basket, letting the conversation die.

They spent the rest of the day walking around Austin sightseeing while waiting for the performance to start. "Got your play list ready for tonight?"

She nodded, "Yep, I think so anyway..."

"Think so?"

"I just, it's hard to know if you're really prepared.."

"Make sense."

She nodded, "Come on, time to head back to the bus."

"Alright, it'll only take us a few minutes, twenty at the max.

"Lead the way then."

He smiled and they walked back to the bus.

Fifteen minutes before the performance Tori approached Freddie and tapped him on the shoulder, "I don't think I can do this.." she said nervously. She was wearing a black dress and black high heels and her brunette hair flowed down past her shoulders and her make up made her eyes shine.

"W-Wow..."

She glared at him, a smile on her face, "Thanks... But seriously, have you seen the people out there?"

"Yup, they promoted the hell out of this."

"So I've noticed..." She muttered, "There's too many!"

"You can do this." he assured her.

"What if I fail?"

"You won't."

"But.."

"You _won't._" he said firmly, "Trust me."

She nodded, "Alright..." she said with a soft sigh, "Here we go.." she muttered as she was ushered on stage.

The concert was a hit, she came alive on stage as if she were born to be on it, and Freddie found her backstage, "You did amazing!"

She grinned and kissed his cheek, "Thanks." she said breathlessly, "It was... incredible.." She trailed off as she noticed two very familiar faces approaching: Jade and Andre.

"Yo." The dark haired musician said, "Wicked show."

"It was horrible." Jade commented dryly.

"Andre! Jade!" The brunette said happily and hugged her old friend and smiled at the goth girl beside him, "I forgot you two were going to school here."

"Back off." Jade growled.

Tori looked at her oddly, then a look of disbelief hit her, "No way..."

"That obvious?" Andre asked.

The young tech expert spoke up, "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Jade is dating Andre." his brunette friend explained.

"Yeah well, after you _stole _Beck from me it opened my eyes that there were other, better, options out there."

"Okay I didn't steal anyone from anyone. Besides, Beck's an ass... He dumped me at the beginning of the year for some other girl."

Jade smirked, "GOOD" she said.

"Have you guys seen Cat or Robbie since graduation?"

"Nah... Cat went to New York I think, and Robbie well... he's Robbie."

Freddie remembered the ventriloquist and nodded, he'd definitely been weird. "So um, how about we all grab dinner?" he asked suddenly.

Everyone seemed agreeable so they let the gothic girl and her boyfriend lead them through Austin to a sushi restaurant (Tori was ecstatic).

"So Andre, going to school here in Austin?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, I'm majoring in music, I want to be able to record and produce my own stuff."

"What about you Jade?"

"Same." Was the only answer he got out of her.

"Okay... Um." he muttered, trying to find a new topic, "Tori and I go to school in L.A" he said, "She's gonna be a singer and actress and I'm studying to be a producer."

"That's cool." Andre said, "You gonna help her out on her shows?"

"I hadn't thought about it but, if she want's me too yeah."

"I'd like that." The brunette spoke up. She glanced over at her old friend when he gave her a knowing smile and he just shook his head and went back to focusing on his food.

The rest of the dinner went by slowly and awkwardly, once they were finished Andre excused himself and Jade and wished Tori the best while Jade just glared at her the entire time.

"That was... Intense.." Freddie finally said.

"You have no idea." His friend replied as they exited the place, "I suppose we should head back to the bus."

"Yeah, we're heading to Atlanta I believe, then up north."

"You sure you wanna stick around? The tour will probably take all summer."

"I'm in it for the long run." He said, "Promise."

She smiled, "Well then, let's head back to the bus and get some sleep."

They walked back to the bus, the streets were mostly empty at this time of night, and Freddie found himself eager for the next city _I could get used to this... _He thought as they walked through the city. Finally they got to the bus and he collapsed on his bed, "Night Tori."

"Night Freddie." Came a mumbled reply.

Soon sleep over took the two college students and the bus headed out of Austin to Atlanta.


	4. Chapter 3

June 7th-, 2013

Freddie had to admit that this had been the best summer of his life. Atlanta and Tallahassee had both been insane and the best part about each city was sight-seeing with Tori, his best friend and rising pop star. "Hey Vega!" he called playfully.

"What Benson?" came the singer's voice from the front of the tour bus.

"You got another good review!"

"Awesome!" A few minutes later she came back to sit with him and snatched the paper. Her light blue t-shirt with a pink floral decoration on it clung to her torso while her jean shorts hugged her legs, causing Freddie to blush slightly as he struggled not to stare. "They think I'm naturally beautiful?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, you kind of are.."

"What do you mean?" She asked, hoping she wasn't blushing at the sight of his muscles that weren't hidden at all by the white undershirt he was wearing.

"You're sweating like crazy and you're still beautiful." He said as it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"T-Thanks..." She said as she nervously tucked a strand of hair out of her face. Lately she had to admit that Freddie was seeming more and more like boyfriend material to her then just best friend material but she feared that he still wasn't over Carly, he'd been on a total of one date (that she knew of) since they had reunited last fall. Though he didn't often talk about it she often wondered if he was homesick, lovesick or a combination of both. "So Freddie, are you having fun?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah definitely." He replied, trying to make it seem like he hadn't been thinking about making a move on her… "I just, I miss Seattle sometimes lately." he lied.

She nodded knowingly _He's still in love with her _she thought; for a reason she wasn't willing to admit the thought saddened her. "Our next stop is in Nevada I think, maybe we can grab a souvenir on the tour" The last week had seen them go everywhere from Atlanta to as far north as Annapolis, leaving very little time for sightseeing, but June promised to be slower. Her debut, self-titled, album was an instant hit both commercially and critically, and everything seemed to be going her way, but she was determined to finish school before the fame went to her head.

July 15th,2013

The bus pulled into the parking lot of Freddie's apartment at 2:30 in the morning and so it fell upon Freddie to gently scoop up the sleeping Tori and carry her inside. The tour had been cut short because fan had mistakenly thrown a flower she was allergic to on stage and she had inhaled the pollen, causing a serious allergic reaction. Luckily Freddie had recognized the symptoms, if there was one thing his mother had taught him it was how to spot a reaction to something, and had insisted they stop at a hospital. The doctor had ordered her to spend some time resting at home, much to her objection, so she had been forced to cancel most, if not all, of the rest of the tour.

Freddie lay her gently down on his bed and headed back into the living room; he hadn't realized it but part of him had missed L.A while they'd been on tour. He hadn't really had time to think about it with the constant traveling and being with... Tori.

Tori still confused him, was she just a friend? More? He had no doubt that in her eyes he was just a friend, that's how it always went with any girl he got to know besides Sam and look how that had turned out. He headed over to the fridge and grabbed a soda; the caffeine wouldn't help him sleep but oh well... Who needed sleep? "Here's to the friend zone and to not knowing how you feel about a girl." He muttered to himself as he took a sip of his drink and closed his eyes, trying to silence the thoughts in his mind.

Tori stumbled out of the bedroom and groaned; her head was pounding, her throat felt like it had been stripped raw. She opened her mouth to speak but instantly regretted it as pain shook through her jaw and throat. _Allergies suck_ she thought as she headed into the living room to find Freddie asleep, soda can in his hand, on the couch. She almost woke him but decided he looked to peaceful to disturb, _He's cute when he's asleep... _She thought which brought a blush to the brunette singer's face, _Go back to bed Tori, Freddie is off limits...He needs a friend, not more confusion. _She thought before heading back to sleep.

Freddie was awoken but the sun shining in his eyes through the window that he had, in what now seemed unwise, positioned the couch beside. "I'm up I'm up." He grumbled, "Billions of miles away, still manages to get in my eyes." he grumbled and headed into the kitchen. The first thing he did was start a pot of coffee, after all what Seattle native didn't drink coffee, and headed into his bedroom to check on Tori. He found the brunette sitting up in bed, watching TV. "How're you feeling?" He asked.

She frowned in return and he sat on the bed, "You'll stay with me until you feel better okay?" He asked and got a nod in return, "Can't talk?" He asked. She reached over for a notepad she had taken earlier and scribbled something down and handed it to him "Hurts when I talk." He read aloud, "Okay well, how about some soup?" He asked.

She nodded and he smiled, "Be back soon," he told her, "with some nice chicken noodle soup." He got a grateful smile from her as he exited the room and headed into the kitchen. The brunette young man fixed himself a cup of coffee and put her soup in the microwave (it was much faster this way). Once it was done he put the soup, with some crackers on the side just in case she wanted something to dip in the broth, into his room and set it down gently on the tray his mother had sent him from Christmas last year, "Eat." he said, "Doctors orders."

"Yes Doctor Benson." she scribbled in her notebook.

"Text me if you need me." he said, "I'll be just outside but I don't want you getting out of bed." She nodded as he exited and slowly went to work on her soup, blowing on it so it wouldn't be so hot

July 8th-July 14th,2013

The rest of the week had Freddie taking care of the sick singer who, it turned out, could be a bit of a diva when she didn't feel good. "Freddddiiiie." She called after she got her voice back, "Can I have a neck rub?"

"Okay be there in a minute!" He called and pressed pause on the movie he'd been watching. When he got in there she smiled gratefully and tilted her neck to the side.

"Thank you for being so understanding... Not many people would wanna put up with me when I'm like this."

"If I can't handle you at your worst." He replied as he began to slowly massage her neck, "I don't deserve to see you at your best."

She bit her lip, "Thanks.." she muttered and let out a tiny groan, "My neck feels like it's been trampled on."

"Well it looks fine to me." He said.

She didn't know how to reply to that, was it supposed to be some sort of odd compliment? Was he hitting on her? Or, most likely, was she reading too much into it because she was confused on her feelings for him.

The last week had been so much fun... Even though she'd been sick he'd stayed up and watched TV with her, had made sure she'd had everything she might need, and had even volunteered to make a special run for her when she'd run out of medicine. Beck hadn't volunteered to do any of that when they'd been together and she'd been sick... In fact she'd had to take care of herself; he hadn't been around at all... _I never realized just how selfish he was I guess..._

Finally, a week after they got home, she was mostly healed (Her nose was still stuffed up but other than that she was fine) and decided to go home, "I'm sick of being cooped up." She told Freddie who told her she should stay, "I wanna go home, shower and maybe just enjoy being home. I'll call you later, I promise." She said and kissed his cheek

Freddie nodded in defeat and watched her go, "Okay..." He muttered, rubbing the spot she'd kissed, "I'll be here."

September 24th,2013

First day of the 2013 fall semester and Freddie was already late, "Damn it!" he said as he ran down the halls of the college. He arrived at class ten minutes late and slid breathlessly into the seat beside Tori.

"You're late." She whispered teasingly.

"I know." He replied, "I got lost."

"I offered to walk with you."

"I had to do something first." He told her.

"What's that?" She asked, "You get off work at 3 and then have this class."

"I got off work late." He lied as the teacher resumed explaining the details of the course.

* * *

That evening Tori and Freddie met up for their weekly dinner, a new tradition they had set up before school had started so they wouldn't get too busy to talk as both young adults had taken on more classes this semester. "How's school been?" She asked as she sat across from him at a small burger place downtown they had chosen.

"It's good." He said and fidgeted in his booth, "I hate these things, sadly they're still more comfortable than the chairs."

"So why did you pick the place?" She asked, sounding amused.

"I like the burgers." He said grinning.

"Then you can't complain." She replied with a smirk.

"Can too."

"Can not."

"Okay okay, I surrender." He said.

"That was easy."

He laughed, "Yeah, I don't wanna argue, I'd much rather just enjoy time out with my best friend."

She leaned over and poked him, "And apparently only friend; how come I seem to be the only one you hang out with?"

"Because I don't wanna make new ones." He said as if it should be obvious.

The brunette singer shook her head but didn't say anything for a moment, "Fair enough."

"Any word on how your album is doing?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, it's doing really well, I might see a platinum release by next year." She said, "And I might have a movie in the works… I'm gonna rehearse this weekend."

"That's great!" The young Seattle native said happily, "Need me to go with you?"

"Nah, I could be there for hours and I won't find out anything anyway- I'll tell you at our next dinner."

"Alright, now shall I go order?"

"Please, I'll just have a cheeseburger and fries."

Freddie nodded and went up to the counter to order and returned five minutes later with a trayful of food, "Eat up."

"Gladly." The half Latina girl groaned, "I'm starving."

The two young adults ate in silence until Freddie's phone rang. "Who was that?" She asked after he replied with a text message.

"Oh just um... I got a date tomorrow." He admitted, "I've only seen her a couple times but she seems nice."

"Oh..." Tori said, an odd pang of jealousy hitting her, "That's nice then." She said with a smile, "What's her name?"

"Andrea."

"How'd you meet?"

"She's in one of my audio/video classes." She said.

"Well, have fun.."

"Thanks."

After dinner the two young adults hugged and went their separate ways with promises they'd see each other tomorrow. Freddie headed home and went straight to bed, eager for his date tomorrow; had he looked back he'd have seen Tori watching sadly after him as he left.

* * *

**Note: ** I hope you guys enjoy this, Sorry it took me so long. I do like writing this story but my main story at the moment is iGo Hollywood Which I recommend (though I'm biased!) I don't own iCarly,Victorious, or anything in this story... I'm just a fanfic writer. Also a big thanks to DG31, my Beta reader, who made this chapter 10x better.


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